Foreign Secretary concerned by reports that opposition leaders in Iran have been detained

This news article was published under
the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Foreign Secretary William Hague called on the Iranian authorities to release both men immediately.

“I am deeply concerned by reports that Iranian opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been moved from their houses, where they have been under house arrest for two weeks, to an Iranian detention centre. I call on the Iranian authorities to release both men immediately.

“I am particularly concerned given the inexcusable calls by Iranian parliamentarians for Mousavi and Karroubi to be executed. The eyes of the world remain on the plight of opposition figures in Iran even as we respond to events elsewhere in the region.

“If confirmed, this is a flagrant breach of Iran’s human rights obligations and shamelessly hypocritical given Iran’s rhetoric about support for peaceful protest in the region. Freedom of expression and assembly are universal and inalienable rights that lie at the heart of progressive societies. We condemn Iran’s continued attempts to repress these rights.”